


Center of the edge

by Aquinique



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, ダイヤのA | Daiya no A | Ace of Diamond
Genre: Eventual Romance, M/M, Mi-Yuki&Mochi, Miyuki Kazuya & Kuramochi Youichi - Freeform, Panick Attack, Star Wars AU, tags updated as we go, unexpected reaction to meds
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:20:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22528504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aquinique/pseuds/Aquinique
Summary: He was going to die, Mi-Yuki realized. The thought was clear in his mind, without the usual panic that accompanied it. He had accepted it and let it go. He smiled to himself. There were worse ways to go than by watching the Empire lose.
Relationships: Mi-Yuki/Kureezu, Miyuki Kazuya/Takigawa Chris Yuu
Comments: 4
Kudos: 4
Collections: ChrisMiyuDay_2020





	1. Defeating circumstances

**Author's Note:**

> This piece was written for the ChrisMiyu day celebration ＼(＾▽＾)／ Since I love the boys, I had to join and this is my filler for the bingo prompt: Space/Interplanetary. The story kept growing and growing, so I readied at least the first chapter. Everyone, get ready for the space ride! ☆*:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:*☆
> 
> Please, do not pummel me if I got some Star Wars lore wrong, I watched all the movies, read most of the books and tried to use the internet for research, I still took some liberties, so I apologize, if I got something terribly wrong.

He was going to die, Mi-Yuki realized. The thought was clear in his mind, without the usual panic that accompanied it. He had accepted it and let it go. His X-Wing tilted as it got caught in the gravity of the planet underneath him, the alien world growing in his vision when his fighter began diving towards it uncontrollably.

Controls blinking on his headboard started bleeding into each other like watercolors. It was, in fact, a pretty sight.

“Fighter 2, do you hear me?”

Boss’ alarmed voice wormed into his failing consciousness, making him smile weakly. _Yes, Boss, loud and clear._ But with the oxygen leaking out of his cockpit, he was also losing the strength to answer. Guided by the motion of the crashing fighter, his head rolled to the side and he caught the sight of Rebellion fighters obliterating several Empire ships.

“Fighter 2, you’re caught in the gravity!” Another alarmed voice joined the cacophony of noise in his headphones. The man sounded familiar, but it was getting difficult to think. He wasn’t sure, whether the feeling of falling was caused by the pull of the looming planet or the darkness creeping into his consciousness.

To his right, there was a large blotch of grey turning into a ball of fire as it got sucked into the atmosphere. He smiled to himself. There were worse ways to go than by watching the Empire lose.

*~*~*

He felt warm.

Interesting.

He didn’t think death would feel this comfortable.

“Oh, you’ll wish, you were dead, believe me,” a familiar voice grumbled at his side. He tentatively reached out for the Force, discovering a familiar green glow at his side.

“Mochi,” he pushed past his chapped lips without opening his eyes.

“Don’t push yourself,” a low male voice cautioned as something cold and mechanic touched his forehead. He extended his senses towards this person, but found a very barren and boring presence with barely any trace of it in the Force. Definitely not a Force-Sensitive. Good. He could rest then, Mochi would protect him, he thought exhausted and dove back into the Force, welcoming it in his body, relishing as it flowed through him. He was safe, he was alive!


	2. Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Mi-Yuki’s mind drifted closer to consciousness, he felt stronger than the last time he had woken up. Floating in the warm embrace of Force dulling everything, he carefully lifted the veil it pulled over his senses to accept the most natural sensation he had ever known.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chris is there to save the day!

When Mi-Yuki’s mind drifted closer to consciousness, he felt stronger than the last time he had woken up. Floating in the warm embrace of Force dulling everything, he carefully lifted the veil it pulled over his senses to accept the most natural sensation he had ever known. Force, did everything hurt! His nerve endings coming to life forced a pained moan out of him.

“Don’t try to talk,” the low voice he remembered from before advised with concern.

“Hah, good luck with that.”

“Mochi…” he admonished between his clenched teeth, struggling to breathe through the agony.

“See!” 

He didn’t even need to open his scrunched eyes to practically hear Mochi making his all too familiar _didn’t-I-tell-you-so_ shrug while pointing at him with his hand.

Breathing as deeply as his battered body allowed, he soothed the most intensive sparks of agony and then cracked his eyes open to find an indistinct blotch of colors wrapped in a familiar green glow sitting at his side. Mochi. He would recognize his field anywhere.

Mochi reached for his hand and squeezed it. “Welcome back, idiot.” Mi-Yuki grinned briefly at the rude name, gathering his strength.

“I strongly advise against…” the voice started, as Mi-Yuki rolled a little to the side to gain momentum and then with a deep groan pushed himself upright.

“…sitting up,” the voice finished with a resigned sigh.

“Yup, good luck with that too,” Mochi snickered. 

Mi-Yuki even considered arguing, but first, he needed for the room to stop spinning so fast.

“Yes, I can see how that can become a problem,” the voice commented wryly from somewhere much closer and then something metallic pressed between his shoulder blades to take some of his weight, offering him a chance to relax and breathe through the queasiness. After a few nauseating sways, the world righted itself at last.

“Force, I’m alive,” Mi-Yuki exhaled with a huff.

“That you are,” Mochi confirmed and pressed something into Mi-Yuki’s hand. Ah, his glasses, Mi-Yuki realized. He clenched his teeth against the pain shooting up his torso and put them on to look around his new surroundings. _So, this was where they saved me?_ he wondered as his eyes roamed the room. The first word that occurred to him was _meager_ because it was small with no windows and barely any furniture apart from his bed pushed against the wall. There was also a rickety chair next to it, but Mochi ignored it in favor of sitting on his bed instead. If not for the medical equipment around the headboard of the bed and open doors leading into a hallway, it would resemble a cell. 

Mi-Yuki had to admit though, that unlike most prisons, everything here was clean.

“I can’t believe you’re alive!” Mochi cried out with relief, cutting off his reflection with a spontaneous hug.

“Do I really seem that bad?” Mi-Yuki teased with a light smile, squeezing back to reassure his friend he wasn’t dying.

Mochi pulled away from him. “You look _terrible_.”

“I’ll be fine in no time,” Mi-Yuki promised with a nod.

“I beg to differ,” the soft voice admonished from behind the bed and then moved into Mi-Yuki’s field of vision. With the movement, the support between his shoulder-blades shifted and Mi-Yuki realized that the metallic thing holding him steady was his doctor’s hand. 

“This is Kureezu, your doctor,” Mochi introduced. 

A doctor with a robotic hand. Interesting, Mi-Yuki thought, scrutinizing the man. He looked human, about the same age and exhausted. Disheveled brown hair contrasted with his gray pallor, but his eyes were alert. “So how are you going to get better so quickly? The tests showed no mutations enabling quicker healing.”

“Always been a fast healer,” Mi-Yuki replied with a slight shrug. 

Although his powers were nothing notable, they would still mean trouble in some galaxies. Not to mention that he had no idea where they were or who this Kureezu was. Despite Mochi being ease, but Mi-Yuki was never the trusting kind.

“I see. So before you engage that fast healing of yours, I’d suggest that you lie down again,” the doctor advised. 

The hand between his shoulder-blades eased him back a little, reminding him how hard it would be to stay upright with no help.

“Good idea,” Mi-Yuki conceded with a relieved sigh once his head hit the pillows fluffed-up in a way that allowed him to watch his surroundings and the hallways.

“So what happened?” he masked nausea after the change of position by a question.

“We know little,” Mochi rubbed his forehead with a strained face. “But we concluded that you crash-landed after your X-Wing took a hit too close to the planet and the atmosphere pulled you in.”

Mi-Yuki stared at him, trying to recollect, but nothing about Mochi’s words sounded familiar.

“Not remembering is a common response,” the doctor explained without prompting as he passed with a hand-scanner over Mi-Yuki’s body. He then reviewed the results that appeared after a long and annoying beep of the machine. “Nothing shows brain-damage. There’s minor damage to your kidneys, ribs and back, but when we rescued you, you didn’t even require surgery, which,” he looked around the room with a shrug, “is good. What you need is rest. I’ll be going now, but I’ll come by later with your next dose of medication,” he finished with a tired smile and left with slumped shoulders. 

Mi-Yuki turned back to Mochi. “I guess that since you are here, it means that we won?” he surmised his thoughts, fighting tiredness pulling at him already.

Mochi’s grin took lines of stress from his face, making the pilot appear relaxed for the first time since he woke up. “Yes. We were lucky. It was just some random squad scouting here, nothing major. The Boss is already plotting our next steps, but for the moment he allowed me to stay here with you. So, while you’re lazing in your bed, I’m repairing the wreck that was your fighter.”

Mi-Yuki nodded. Nothing major? After what he had seen, it would be ironic if he got killed in “nothing major”.

“How come that I’m alive when the fighter is a wreck?”

Mochi shrugged. “Don’t know.” His tone betrayed that it was something that he had been pondering too. “Are you sure you didn’t?” he made a vague gesture with his fingers. 

“No. I can’t even do that,” Mi-Yuki shook his head, trying to remember at least something from the crash.

“Maybe in desperate times your mind was better able to connect…” Mochi speculated.

Mi-Yuki frowned. Allegedly some Sensitives were able to move things through the Force, but his connection wasn’t strong enough to do that. His talent was to sense people, their mood or their Sensitivity and in very rare cases even their thoughts.

“You can always check,” Mochi prompted with a shrug, at wit’s end. 

Mi-Yuki hesitated at the proposal, nodding with a grimace. Hospitals were difficult to handle. For all the talk about the balance of the Force, it never seemed to apply to hospitals. Despite all good that they brought, the suffering never left with the patients, sticking around and coloring the place in dark hues.

Mi-Yuki steeled himself and reached for the Force hiding in the furthest corner of his consciousness with a plea for aid. The Force stirred and unfurled into his mind like a wisp. Once the golden veil of Force wrapped around him, he blinked, feeling like he needed to clear his eyes, although he knew that the Force wasn’t really spreading in front of his eyes, but rather penetrating his mind and allowing him to have a look at the world through a different vision. He smiled when his eyes landed on Mochi bathed in his usual lime-green glow. He then looked down at himself, noting that his own colorless field pulsed and swirled with unusual ruby-red tendrils. That was probably his body trying to heal.

“So?” Mochi asked impatiently, his concerned eyes fixed on Mi-Yuki.

“I’m still only here. So far, everything’s the usual,” Mi-Yuki reported and then turned towards the door to let his mind out, although it posed no barrier for his explorations beyond the walls of the room.

Sliding on the waves of Force, he moved through the space. He had realized even before that the whole building seemed unusually quiet, but wandering along the hallway, across the rooms and finding them empty was still jarring. How was it possible that the whole hospital was deserted? He surveyed several other rooms, but to no avail. Apart from Mochi’s presence, there was nobody. He would have to go further than that. Should he dare it? He explored only several rooms, but the strain was already creeping into his mind. The exploration felt like diving into murky waters. He turned around. If only he could distinguish some direction, he thought, and then he caught a faint glow to his right. Going would mean to strain his mind further, but returning meant he learned nothing. He gauged the distance to cross. It was spanning over his personal record. It was only logical to try. He dove further in the promising direction, feeling more drained with every attempt to reach further. Following golden lines of Force in darkness, he was suddenly jolted with pleasure when his mind brushed against other minds and places alive with faint yellow or glittery blue. There was even the doctor’s distinguishable plain presence here. So there were other entities.

He realized he would have to accept the current discoveries as his senses started retracting back on their own volition, like a thread stretched too thin. He returned into himself with an exhausted huff.

“I couldn’t reach too far, but I didn’t feel any Sensitive, who could move anything as big as a fighter.”

The news didn’t seem to please Mochi, who rolled his eyes and threw up his arms in the air. “So you were lucky.”

“In Force, everything happens for a reason,” Mi-Yuki teased with a grin, but it slipped off his face faster than usual. He was almost relieved when the doctor appeared in the doors. “I’m sorry to break up the party, but the patient really should rest.” Although it was said softly, it was still an order, one that Mi-Yuki didn’t mind for once.

“Yes, yes,” he retorted out of habit, his eyes closing by themselves. The surrounding Force fluttered, as he had no energy to channel it anymore, so he released his weakening hold of it and let it crash through him, flinging him back into warm unawareness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the long wait, Miyuki still had something to add here and there. :)


	3. Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You’re very handsome,” Mi-Yuki said while staring at him.  
> “Well, thank you,” Kureezu made a surprised but not displeased face. 
> 
> With Mi-Yuki getting stronger, he gets to know his doctor a little better. Faster than he expected and under not quite ideal circumstances.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please, heed the notes/spoilers for this chapter at the end, if the idea of losing control makes you uncomfortable.

Mi-Yuki didn’t know how long he was sleeping when he was woken up by a prickle in his arm. When the sting didn’t go away but remained as an uncomfortable presence, he grumbled and opened his eyes to find the young doctor giving him an injection with a concerned face. “Ah, sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you. You were whimpering in pain while sleeping, so I thought this mild muscle relaxant could help you rest better,” he said off-handedly, his concentration on the hypodermic. Watching the liquid entering his body, Mi-Yuki nodded slowly, still a little fuzzy. “When you fell asleep, your friend returned to his work, but promised to show up later,” the doctor supplied as he discarded the used injection onto a small tray on the bedstand. He then handed Mi-Yuki his glasses that were laid next to the tray.

“Thank you,” Mi-Yuki groaned as he struggled to put them. His whole body still ached, battered and bruised.

He looked up at the doctor, who was towering by his bed with a slight frown. “It’ll hurt less soon. You should eat, I’ll bring some food. Can you eat by yourself?”

Mi-Yuki blinked at him, horror overtaking his face when he realized that the alternative to eating by himself was to either get fed by the doctor or Mochi. “I’ll manage,” he assured quickly. “I just need to sit up,” he squeezed through his clenched teeth as he fought to get upright. The mere attempt made his body scream at him.

“I can help with that,” Kureezu said amiably and pushed a button next to the bed. Something whirred and then the upper half of the bed started folding, pushing him gently into a semi-seated position.

“You’re my star patient, you get the best technology,” the doctor grinned, making his eyes light up.

“You’re very handsome,” Mi-Yuki said while staring at him.

“Well, thank you,” Kureezu made a surprised but not displeased face.

Mi-Yuki tensed up in alarm. “Why would I say that?”

“Now that is insulting,” the doctor teased while he tinkered with the bed controls, but when he looked back at Mi-Yuki and noted the cold sweat breaking on his brow, his pleasant expression vanished. “What’s wrong?” he asked, his gaze running over Mi-Yuki’s body with concern.

“Why would I say that?” Mi-Yuki repeated with a frown, his eyes jumping from place to place.

“You mean this is _not_ how you usually talk to people?”

“No!” Mi-Yuki shouted. His ribs constricted painfully and he gasped, wrapping his arms around his chest. The air was catching in his damaged ribcage, making breathing increasingly difficult.

“It must be the injection I’ve given you. Some individuals can react like this. It’ll pass soon.” Kureezu acted fast. He jumped closer to sit on the bed and grasped Mi-Yuki’s wrist. “Try to breathe through pursed lips,” he ordered, but Mi-Yuki didn’t seem to listen, color quickly draining from his face. Kureezu frowned and squeezed the wrist in his grasp harshly.

“Ouch, that hurts,” Mi-Yuki winced, looking at the doctor reproachfully, “you have beautiful eyes,” he finished. Once he realized what he said, he squeezed his eyes shut. “Shitshitshitshit…” feverish curses poured from him unbidden. Panic spreading over his face, he started wheezing. Kureezu grabbed Mi-Yuki’s other hand. His grip on both wrists turning into crushing. “Force!” Mi-Yuki yelped and his eyes flew open in shock.

“Concentrate on the pain, it’ll help,” Kureezu ordered.

“You’re much stronger than you seem,” Mi-Yuki blabbered out with a grimace. Kureezu ignored the comment, but encouraged: “It should be over any moment now.”

“Please,” Mi-Yuki whined, clenching his jaw to keep any words from escaping. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly.

“Look at me,” the doctor demanded. When Mi-Yuki resolutely shook his head, he repeated more firmly. “Look. At. Me. I need to check your pupils,” he urged, crushing the arms in his grasp for emphasis.

Mi-Yuki winced but reluctantly followed the order, opening his eyes wide to stare into Kureezu’s. “Your eyes are pretty,” he babbled.

Studying him with concentration, Kureezu huffed: “You mentioned that, yes. Your pupils look already normal. This should be over soon.”

“Thank Force!” Mi-Yuki gasped; the vice of panic locked around his ribs loosening fractionally. “That still hurts,” he grumped with a small toss of his head towards Kureezu’s fingers crushing his wrists. “Sorry, the pain serves as an anchor,” Kureezu apologized and relaxed his grip. Keeping his hold of Mi-Yuki’s wrist, he soothingly stroked the bruising flesh with his thumb. “You’ll be fine now.” 

“Good,” Mi-Yuki squinted at the doctor and snorted in relief over his returning ability to keep his thoughts to himself. “Honestly, your muscle relaxant did _nothing_ for my relaxation.”

The terror fueling him was changing into heavy-limbed sluggishness. Even after his breathing evened out, the doctor remained seated on the edge of the bed, gently stroking his bruising wrists with his thumbs. “Sorry, I read that some people can react to the relaxant like this, but I’ve never seen it. Only Imperials come here and they’re made resistant already as trainees.”

“I’ve never have been a part of the Empire,” Mi-Yuki explained, his lip curling with disdain around the name of the enemy.

Kureezu gazed at him curiously. “What were you even doing here? This far out?”

Mi-Yuki grinned to lift the shadows of guilt still clouding the doctor’s face. “We’re _fighting_ the Empire.”

Understanding dawned on Kureezu’s face. “You’re the Resistance,” he breathed out in awe. Then huffed. “You must be doing good if you are already freeing the outer rim.”

“We’re doing our best,” Mi-Yuki shrugged and winced when his body reminded him why it wasn’t smart yet. He settled against the pillow to relieve the strain, the last of his energy draining fast. Kureezu seemed to have taken note because he released his hands and stood up. “Rest now. Can’t give you any relaxant though, have only one type, sorry.”

Mi-Yuki nodded weakly, watching the young man go. “Doctor,” he stopped him in the doorway, making him turn back to him. With his eyes on him, Mi-Yuki didn’t remember anymore what he wanted to say, so he just smiled thinly. “It’s ok. Shit happens.”

It sounded more like something Mochi would say, but it made the doctor light up slightly. “Thank you,” he said sincerely and left the room. Mi-Yuki stared after him with his eyes drooping, but he forced them open when the doctor appeared in the door again. “By the way, since you already told me that my eyes were pretty, how about calling me just Kureezu?”

Mi-Yuki frowned at the suggestion, his sluggish brain catching up with difficulty. “Kureezu,” he tested the name and found that he enjoyed saying it. He smiled back at the doctor, “yes, I can do that.”

“Good. Your eyes are pretty too, just so you know,” Kureezu grinned at him with a wink and left, leaving Mi-Yuki stare flabbergasted at the empty space. “Asshole,” he mumbled and fell asleep with a grin on his face.

*~*~*

When he woke up again, there was a cart next to his bed and nobody around. Without thinking, he reached for the Force and found Mochi’s faint glow approaching.

“Hey!” Mi-Yuki called out to the door a moment before Mochi appeared in it.

“Were you spying on me?” Mochi squinted at him from the entrance.

“I could sense you coming when I woke up.”

Taking the admission in stride, Mochi ignored the chair prepared for visitors and plopped down on Mi-Yuki’s bed. Well not ignored, he put his feet on it, so they didn’t dangle off the bed. In his dirty shoes. Mi-Yuki grimaced with an internal sigh.

“The Boss was asking how you were. I told him you looked like shit and you’re not going anywhere for a time.” He looked around the meager room with a pragmatic eye. “This is still better than what we have available now.”

From what Mi-Yuki remembered about their infirmary after the last run-ins with the Empire, Mochi was right.

“Anything new?”

“No news. Oh, what’s this?” Mochi’s curious gaze landed on the cart by the bed. Hooking his foot around it, he pulled it closer and lifted the lid to reveal a goo of strange brown color, which, however, smelled decently.

“That looks disgusting,” Mochi looked at it with apprehension.

“That’s my lunch, I have to eat that,” Mi-Yuki retorted sharply, disgruntled by the comments.

“Do I pity you. I would take you to eat out, but…” Mochi made a dramatic pause and then made an expansive gesture, “… there’s nowhere to go. This planet is the backass of galaxies. And I mean it. Literally galaxies. Did you have to hurt yourself here? Couldn’t you pick something nicer? Like Corellia?”

Mi-Yuki rolled his eyes because that didn’t hurt. “Yeah, you know me. I crashed the ship here just to annoy you.”

“Sure sounds like you,” Mochi told him off readily, as he studied the goo and its texture, poking into it with the spoon. At last, he straightened up and closed the lid with a metallic _thunk_. “We’re not even sure why the Imperial ships were here. There were no survivors and we couldn’t recover any data from their systems, so we can only guess. Maybe they were just passing through to some other place. Or possibly scouting new territories, but I doubt that since this is a shithole.”

“Kureezu mentioned that the Imperials visited sometimes,” Mi-Yuki supplied what he learned tiredly. Mochi’s attention jumped to him. “Why would they do that? Also don’t think I didn’t notice you’re calling him by his name now.”

“He didn’t mention, why they’re coming,” Mi-Yuki grumbled, getting irritable with his energy getting exhausted again.

“Oh, look, this is a self-warming cart,” Mochi said, forcing Mi-Yuki’s eyes open. When did they close? He found Mochi squatting next to the food cart with the plating and screws laid around him. He had a pocket spanner in his hand and was poking with it inside the simple machine.

“This setup is so primitive that it doesn’t even look like a standard cart,” Mochi commented while detaching cables and pulling them outside.

“That’s because it’s my design.”

Kureezu’s voice made Mochi wince guiltily and turn towards the door where the doctor stood. “It’s… innovative,” Mochi squeaked, his hands falling away from the cables sticking out from the machine.

“We have very little spares around and most of them go into hospital equipment. I need to get creative with the rest,” Walking in, Kureezu explained with an amused expression while surveying the damage Mochi had done. “Do I feel you!” Mochi stepped away from the machine and deftly turned the spanner in his fingers before pointing it at Kureezu.

The doctor squatted down and started rewiring the cables as he explained. “The last technician who was willing to stay here had an accident with a rhydonium engine.”

“Moody buggers,” Mochi grunted, nodding in agreement vigorously.

“After that, nobody came.” Kureezu finished with the cables and after he placed back the plating, he lifted his mechanical right hand and extended a screwdriver from the index finger to attach it. Mi-Yuki did his best not to stare. “Accident some years ago,” Kureezu shrugged easily, as he still worked on the cover.

“That’s… practical. Does it also hold surgical equipment?” Mochi asked, his eyes glued to the piece of equipment attached to where a hand used to be, his face betraying that he would love to study it.

“For micro and compact surgery,” Kureezu answered smugly, “a good solution for lack of staff handing you instruments here.”

Mochi stared at the protruding attachment with fascination until Kureezu pulled his hand back and stood up. 

“I’m afraid I can’t let you study it, it’s the only one I have.”

“Ah, that, what? No!” Mochi spluttered indignantly.

Mi-Yuki snorted as much as his ribs allowed, drawing Kureezu’s attention to himself. “I had brought you food, but you were sleeping. You should eat it now. Can you do it alone or shall I feed you?”

This time the situation turned and Mi-Yuki spluttered while Mochi burst out laughing.

“I told you, I can handle it,” Mi-Yuki retorted disgruntled, as Kureezu with a straight face reached for the cart, pulling it closer to the bed. With a small shrug, he parked it on the side, where Mi-Yuki’s ribs were less damaged. “Just making sure you won’t starve on my watch.”

With that, he lifted the upper part of the cart with the food and held it over Mi-Yuki’s lap. It unfolded into a stand that could comfortably fit over Mi-Yuki’s legs and support his arms, so he didn’t exhaust his healing muscles during the meal.

“I’ll be damned, is the heating unit in the tray?” Mochi stared at it in awe, already reaching with his spanner towards the tray, but Mi-Yuki’s stern stare made him withdraw his hand quickly.

Kureezu chuckled, his attention trained on Mi-Yuki, but he answered to Mochi. “I like to be practical about things.”

“Hnhn,” Mochi grunted in response as he circled the bed, trying to take the tray apart with his eyes. Mi-Yuki sighed under his breath, miffed by his friend’s antics, but he said nothing. With difficulty, he brought his hands to the resting places on the sides of the tray. He noted that Kureezu was watching his sluggish movements with concern, but Mi-Yuki, despite his best efforts, couldn’t move faster, because his back was aching all over. He could see when the doctor’s resolve broke and he opened his mouth, but Mi-Yuki shook his head before he could say anything. “I’ll be all right.”

Kureezu frowned in response, obviously not convinced until Mochi, who ignored their battle of wills in favor of studying the basis of the cart by the bed mumbled, “He really will be, he’s always like this.”

Kureezu glanced towards Mochi and then back to Mi-Yuki, his frown growing even deeper. With stubborn determination, Mi-Yuki grabbed the spoon and slurped in a hefty mouthful of the brown goo. He nodded approvingly because it tasted much better than it looked. Taking a moment to rest, he took another mouthful, which finally seemed to convince the doctor that he would not die of malnutrition, nor did he need to be fed. Kureezu gave him a slight satisfied nod. “I’ll come around later.”

Once he was gone, Mochi turned to Mi-Yuki from his spot by the machine and commented. “He’s good with technology. For a doctor.”

Mi-Yuki shrugged weakly, not wanting to argue with his best friend. “You’re good with technology. For a pilot.”

“That was a bad analogy, and you know it.” When Mi-Yuki rolled his eyes but didn’t reply, Mochi stared at him. “Oooh,” his face brightened up and his eyes sparkled. Mi-Yuki didn’t want to encourage him, but Mochi was not only more observant than people give him credit for, he was also more obstinate. “What?” he growled at last, if only to humor him.

“You like him.”

Mi-Yuki put another mouthful into his mouth as if nothing was said. Mochi grinned, scooting closer to his friend, settling on the edge of the bed. “I suppose, he is handsome,” he started philosophically and waited for a reaction. When Mi-Yuki paid him no attention, Mochi folded his arms with one arm supporting his chin and thoughtfully watched Mi-Yuki eating. “The hand is cool too.”

Finishing his meal with a shallow sigh, Mi-Yuki put the spoon down, making a gesture for Mochi to close the lid while he leaned against the pillow to rest. He hoped that their conversation was over, but Mochi remained undeterred. “You like the stoic broody types.”

Mi-Yuki finally looked at him coolly and denied decisively: “He’s my doctor.”

“And?” Mochi objected stubbornly, refusing to follow any logic, as usual.

“He’s my doctor, and he’s saved my life.”

Mochi scrunched his face. “Technically, he didn’t, because you’re just bruised and battered. Also, I’ve saved your life too, several times actually. Nah… You like him.”

Mi-Yuki shook his head slightly, losing even the last reserves of his patience. He put down his glasses and closed his eyes to indicate that the conversation was over. Once Mochi got this adamant about something, reasoning with him was useless and Mi-Yuki felt pleasantly heavy after the warm meal. He wouldn’t mind having a bit of sleep. It didn’t matter whether he liked Kureezu or not anyway, because as soon as he was healed, they were returning to the battle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please, beware that this chapter contains unexpected reaction to medicine, which makes Mi-Yuki lose his usual brain-to-mouth filter, resulting in a panicked state. If this makes you uncomfortable, jump to section *~*~*.
> 
> Thank you for reading this far again and I apologize for the delay, RL was really not accommodating the last week. m(_ _)m  
> The technique of squeezing my wrist really really painfully was used on me when I had a very unexpected reaction to acupuncture, I used it with some creative change in this situation. Obviously, pain as an anchor is a thing. (￣_￣)・・・


	4. Just a seer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mochi, perhaps, deserved some answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for coming back :D I apologize for the glacial tempo of updates, but I couldn't quite put the words in a way I like until now :D

“You really could have crashed somewhere more interesting,” Mochi complained right as he walked into Mi-Yuki’s room. He threw his hands up and flopped down on the edge of Mi-Yuki’s bed. “What should I even protect you from?”

“Sorry for the inconvenience,” Mi-Yuki grumbled drily and scowled as the streaks of technical oil on Mochi’s pants dirtied his bedsheets.

“No, seriously, while repairing your fighter, I’ve run all scans, and _nothing_. This hospital is the only interesting spot on this side of the planet. And don’t think the other side is any better. No minerals, no rare resources, not even a speck of… anything! They’re _farmers_. We’re the most exciting thing here for at least a century!”

“Next time, I’ll plan my death more accurately.”

“You didn’t actually die,” Mochi pointed out readily with a shrug.

“Sure feels like this bed is killing me,” Mi-Yuki grunted, trying to change his position with clenched teeth, which at least brought out some compassion in Mochi. “Can’t Kureezu give you some pill or something?”

Mi-Yuki blanched for a second as the memory of his control slipping away flooded his mind. In his squadron, he was renowned for speaking his mind out loud, but having no brain-to-mouth filter whatsoever made his skin crawl. Luckily Kureezu asked nothing while the effect of the drug lasted, so Mi-Yuki couldn’t reveal any secret. So, there was no point in worrying Mochi. “It’s not _that_ bad.”

Mochi just shrugged. “Do as you please. By the way, while working my ass off, that doctor of yours came by and asked about you.”

Mi-Yuki really could live without Mochi’s sly winks.

“I trust, you told him all the worst about me.”

“You know you can count on me.” Mochi grinned devilishly, waiting for Mi-Yuki to fish for details with badly hidden glee.

“All right, all right, so what did you say?”

Mochi pursed his lips, drawing out his answer. “Not much, didn’t want to scare him. You know, the fun part of any relationship is getting to know each other.” And he wiggled his eyebrows.

Now Mi-Yuki did roll his eyes with a sigh. “This again. There’ll be no relationship.”

He expected Mochi to protest, but when nothing came, Mi-Yuki stopped studying the assortment of bruises on his body to look at Mochi and he found his best friend looking at him pensively. “There’s nothing wrong with relationships, you know,” Mochi mumbled. Then he shuffled closer and nudged Mi-Yuki’s hand. “You’ll heal in no time. When the scouting party returns, your fighter will be functional and we’ll leave. The next rest will be…who knows when. _Enjoy_ yourself a little.”

And Mi-Yuki understood Mochi meant well, which was why he took a calming breath and enunciated clearly: “What’s the point?”

Mochi leaned forward and poked into Mi-Yuki’s chest. “I’ve heard it was good for the heart. We don’t get to rest often. Plus you already like him. Just saying.”

Mi-Yuki gulped, because Mochi’s easy tone didn’t fool him: Mi-Yuki just tolerated most people, accepted a few, but to like somebody…

“Did the Boss say anything else?”

Mochi grimaced. “Not much. It seems the Imperials were only cruising around and you jumped out of the hyperspace right under their noses. Just your bad luck.”

Mi-Yuki chuckled. “Bad luck? I survived against all odds. Also, everything happens for a reason in the Force.”

“Uh huh, tell that to Boss. Since your injury, he’s been spitting fire at our spies, asking why nobody informed us about the Imperials.” Mochi’s face grew much darker without finishing his thought, but he didn’t need to. Mi-Yuki understood. There were traitors on both sides. The Rebellion thrived on the intel from farmers and small folks that the Empire overlooked, but if the Empire grew sneaky…

“UAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

A scream followed by running footsteps jolted Mochi into alert. He jumped to his feet and fluidly pulled out his gun to aim at the door. As soon as he did, two shadows passed by the room without stopping and disappeared somewhere in the hallway. Mochi laughed and holstered the weapon.

Nursing his ribs jostled by the scare, Mi-Yuki gaped at him. “What was that?”

“Sorry, I overreacted. That were just the kids. The ones you felt before when you, you know…” Mochi wiggled with his fingers in the air and settled down on the bed again. “If you haven’t met them yet, your Kureezu is making a good job of keeping those curious pests away from you. Yesterday I found one in the cockpit of my fighter. One wrong button and he’d be wailing right in the orbit.” Mochi mimicked the familiar X-wing starting curve with a grin. “I think their parents live in the city, but I don’t know more. There’s two of them and they’re holding a competition in getting on my nerves. Winner is still undecided, but they both deserve a prize for achievement.”

While Mochi grumbled, Mi-Yuki pulled the veil of Force around himself and looked at his best friend. As expected, despite his harsh words, Mochi’s Force field was pulsing with contentment because he loved kids.

“What are you smiling about?” Mochi crossed his arms suspiciously.

“Nothing,” Mi-Yuki told him off with a light grin.

“Like hell. Are you finished screening me? It’s creepy when you do that! And you do it more often now!”

Mi-Yuki hesitated. He did, didn’t he? He perhaps owed Mochi an explanation for a lot of things.

“It is easier here, with you and just so few other people around.”

Ignoring his hesitation, Mochi jumped at the information. “That’s a first, you taking positively about this thing.” His remark forced Mi-Yuki to continue.

“Can’t describe it well. Everything’s…dimmer? Not so pulling?”

_Not tearing into my mind and overloading it with emotions I can’t control. Not like the usual._

Mochi clasped his hands together, before grinning, “and what about the good doctor? Did you screen him?”

Mi-Yuki returned his grin, slipping back into teasing with relief. “Wonderfully blank; not an iota of Force in him.”

“Now that makes me really believe that everything happens for a reason in that Force of yours.” Mochi snickered. His eyes boring into Mi-Yuki, his face grew somber. “So, if you feel it, this Force, so strongly, why didn’t they train you?”

It’s been years since Mi-Yuki had told Mochi his secret, but they never spoke about it. Mochi had only witnessed the effects the Force had on Mi-Yuki, and they didn’t seem pleasant at all. He was eager to learn about it, though.

“I was too old when I tested. _And_ my connection is actually weak for a Sensitive.”

“Weak? Did they see what happens to you in crowds? What that _weak_ connection does to you?”

Mi-Yuki winced, but then shrugged. “I couldn’t even move pebbles while other kids floated boulders. I’m just a seer.”

“Just a seer. Well, they can keep their boulder-movers and employ them in mines! Even the Empire can harvest them for all I care!” Mochi exploded, insulted on Mi-Yuki’s behalf. Mi-Yuki grinned. Then he stilled. “What do you mean, _harvest_?”

His question worked like a bucket of cold water into the face, because Mochi visibly deflated and looked away guiltily.

“Mochi…?

The pilot’s eyes flickered to Mi-Yuki. “’s a rumor I’ve heard. About the Empire searching for Sensitives and making them disappear.”

Mi-Yuki stared at him mutely, his frown begging for more.

“Nobody knows the reason, so you don’t have to ask. Maybe they are killing them.”

Mi-Yuki’s eyes narrowed at the hypothesis. “Or they are building an army,” he concluded darkly.

Mochi intertwined his fingers in his lap and cleared his throat uneasily. “Let’s say. Theoretically. That the harvesting is real. Would they target you?”

Thinking for a beat, Mi-Yuki scoffed. “Nah, if I’m too weak for the Academy, the Empire has no use for me.”

Mochi heaved a relieved sigh, his entire being relaxing for a moment, before he shot up straight again. “Wait! So, you _don’t_ need my protection?”

“How should I know? Ask the Boss!”

“Thanks, but no thanks. He’s like a hungry Banta now. I’m here probably because nobody else can stand your charming presence.”

Mi-Yuki chuckled, because Mochi might have had a point. Mi-Yuki didn’t join the Rebels to become popular. No, he aimed to make at least a dent in the Empire’s power, before they took him down and so far, he was doing his part even without the Force.

But he never intended to drag innocent doctors into the crossfire. The Empire had no mercy for aiders of the Rebellion. If they got their hands on the well-meaning doctor, who knew what could befall him. To keep Kureezu safe, Mi-Yuki needed to leave as quickly as possible.

“So how long do you think it will take you to repair the fighter?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all, who are leaving comments and kudos and constructive thoughts, you are awesome and all of them mean the world to me!!
> 
> I hope you stay tuned for the next chapter, because things will start moving forward fast, most likely much faster than Mi-Yuki likes >O.O<

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading until here. It will make me immensely happy, if you decide to leave kudos, comments or constructive criticism.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Center of the edge (banner)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22543903) by [Aquinique](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aquinique/pseuds/Aquinique)




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